As Celtic left the Ibrox pitch on Sunday they might well have done so with La Marseillaise ringing in their ears. The Parkhead side’s French contingent of Moussa Dembele, Olivier Ntcham and Odsonne Edouard were pivotal to the victory, a win that effectively set the marching drum on Celtic’s march towards a seventh successive league title.

It would be too laborious a task to comb through the 90-minutes and point to the differences between the teams at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon but arguably there were two moments that defined the respective outcomes; Brendan Rodgers’ call to put on Odsonne Edouard after going down to ten men and two Alfredo Morelos misses, one of which came directly before Edouard curled in the winner.

Dembele had a part in that one too, his first-time pass picking out his fellow countryman as Celtic went for the jugular.

The subsequent winner ensures that Celtic have now celebrated four successive wins at Ibrox for the first time in the modern era and former Parkhead striker John Hartson believes that Dembele will come to the fore as the season reaches its climax.

The 20-year-old has been pre-selected from Didier Deschamps’ squad. That is nothing new - the announcement was made some time ago - but what may work on the striker’s favour is the injury to Bayern Munich’s Kinglsey Coman which may open the door.

Plying his trade in Glasgow will work against Dembele as he pushes for an outside chance of a call-up to full international honours but Hartson has used the example of Henrik Larsson as to what can be achieved.

“Look at what Henrik Larsson did at Celtic,” said Hartson. “And he did not do that just over the course of a season or a good spell here and there. He did it consistently, year in, year out.

“People used to ask me about Henrik and whether or not he could go and do it elsewhere and having played with the Ian Wrights of this world I didn’t need to be told how good Henrik was.

“And that is the example that Moussa should be looking at. These players like Henrik and Ian they did throughout their entire career. The goals were there all the way through and for me that is the hallmark of a truly top player.

“For me, Moussa has always been a top-class young striker. I think he has everything. He is a big, powerful lump of a boy and I think that he has improved on is being able to use that bulk to his advantage.

“He has pace. He can score. He has power. He has the temperament for the big occasion and I honestly believe that he could play at the very top level. I have never doubted that. But over the last few weeks you just get a sense that he is hungry and sharp again. I thought he took that second goal so well at Ibrox. It was a beautiful finish but equally important was the way in which he played in Edouard for that third goal.”

Dembele’s form has been far more staccato this term that it was last. It is difficult to ascertain the effect back-to-back hamstring injuries have had on that but Hartson believes that he has glimpsed the Dembele of his inaugural season in recent weeks. Like Rodgers, Dembele’s record against Rangers is impressive and the acknowledgement of the psychological advantage that gives the Parkhead side ahead of next month’s game is interesting.

The teams face one another twice in the space of a week in the Scottish Cup and in the league in April but having blown an ideal chance to punish Celtic when the Parkhead side were on the ropes at the weekend, Rangers have the unenviable task of rousing themselves to go again against a team they have not got the better of in nine attempts. “I think you have to be careful,” cautioned Hartson. “Celtic will feel like they have the edge but this is a dangerous fixture. You need to be confident and you need to believe but you don’t want to be dismissive either.

“Rangers gave Celtic a few problems on Sunday and while I always expected that Celtic had the character and nerve to come through it you have to be able to deliver and that comes from being willing to roll the sleeves up at times.”

Scott Brown leadership qualities and performance at Ibrox marked him out but Ntcham’s growing maturity at Celtic has not gone unnoticed. The 22-year-old arrived at the club having played very little first-team football but an elegant physicality has lent itself well to the demands of the Celtic midfield. Ntcham was among those who stood out for Celtic but it was Edouard who stole the headlines. “The young lad still had a fair bit of work to do before he curled it into the far corner but it was fantastic play between both players. I mean, what a feeling that must have been for Odsonne. To come off the bench in a game like that and when you are really under the cosh, it must have been so special to go and score the winner for your team. To me it just spoke volumes for the character and determination in that side and that is what you need if you want to be successful. They were the team that wanted it the most.”

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